This program supports projects that are at the intersection of waterfowl conservation and community, whether they are focused on education and outreach, science and research, or restoration. Ideally, projects include aspects of each focus area with the intention of building connections between our waterfowl, our region’s non-profits and the people of Delmarva. This cross sectional perspective means Waterfowl always receives a variety of projects that make for a very interested and thoughtful discussions by its review panel.

For 2021, these awards honor Judy Stansbury who, along with her husband Henry, are longtime supporters of the Festival and waterfowl conservation.

The 2021 Judy Stansbury Community in Conservation Grant recipients are:

University of MD, Center for Environmental Science – $5,000

Horn Point Laboratory’s (HPL) outdoor environmental education programs reach more than 3,000 students each year, teaching them about the Bay ecosystem through experiential learning on school or university field trips, HPL’s summer STEM programming and other community educational experiences. After more than eighteen months of isolation, distance and hybrid learning, HPL is ready to support getting children out into nature once again.

HPL’s project “Enhancing the Horn Point Nature Trail Experience” will create improvements to the Cove Point Train, part of a network of trails at the eight hundred acre UMCES/HPL campus. Improvements will include renovation of the trail’s wildlife/bird blind and the construction and installation of nesting platforms and boxes. Overall the project aims to better connect students to habitats, research and conservation and improve educational resources that focus on the wildlife and bird ecology of the Choptank River.

ShoreRivers $5,000

The Bay’s underwater grasses, known technically as Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV), are flowering, vascular plant species that grow in salt, brackish, and fresh waters. They provide immense ecological, acting as feeding grounds for waterfowl and commercially important fish and shellfish, sequester carbon, take up excess nutrients and trap sediment, and they protect shorelines from erosion by slowing tidal action.

ShoreRivers has been working with MD Dept. of Natural Resources and Anne Arundel Community College for the past several years to assist with SAV restoration plantings on the Eastern Shore. Waterfowl funding will compliment an existing grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, allowing ShoreRivers to further expand SAV restoration efforts. Overall, the project goal is to restore 24 acres of grasses throughout several Delmarva rivers. It will increase populations of native SAV species in an effort to reach Eastern Shore watershed restoration goals outlined set by the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The project includes volunteer-supported seed collection and distribution of species including widgeon grass, redhead grass, wild celery and horned pondweed – all key food sources to migratory waterfowl.

Help us build the foundation for future environmental conservation for waterfowl with a contribution to our Community in Conservation Grants Program. To make a gift, call us at 410.822.4567 or email us at facts@WaterfowlFestival.org.

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